by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A sweeping five-day law enforcement operation targeting online child predators led to the arrest of 205 suspects and the rescue of 115 children across the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 7.
Dubbed “Operation Restore Justice,” the multiagency effort involved the FBI’s 55 field offices and over 90 U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide. Authorities targeted individuals involved in child sex trafficking, production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and online enticement of minors.
“These depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison — some life,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi during a press conference. She emphasized that the operation was intended to send a clear message that those who prey on children would be aggressively pursued and prosecuted.
FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted that some of those arrested held positions of public trust, including law enforcement personnel, teachers, and other professionals. “There is no place we will not come to hunt you down,” Patel said. “There is no place we will not look for you. And there is no cage we will not put you in should you do harm to our children.”
Among those arrested were Minnesota State Trooper Jeremy Francis Plonski, who faces up to 15 years in prison for allegedly producing child pornography; Jose Alexis Valdez Sosa, a Mexican migrant accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual exploitation; and Linwood Barnhill, a former Washington, D.C. police officer and registered sex offender charged with sex trafficking children by force.
Bondi urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities to protect them from potential predators. “Your child has no right to privacy on the internet — none,” she said. “You have to monitor what your kids are doing, whether they’re playing games on the internet, on social media, or on any other websites that children and teenagers frequent. An online predator can find them.”
In a related statement, President Donald Trump emphasized the administration’s commitment to combating child exploitation, stating, “My message to every American child is simple: you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”
The crackdown is part of a broader DOJ initiative to tackle child exploitation through coordinated efforts involving state, federal, and local partners. Previous operations, including “Operation Cross Country XII” in 2022 under the Biden administration, resulted in the arrest of 85 suspected traffickers and the recovery of 121 missing children.
The DOJ continues to encourage the public to report suspected child exploitation through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline and local law enforcement agencies.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has taken delivery of the most advanced AN/TPY-2 radar system to date, built by Raytheon and designed specifically to detect and track next-generation missile threats, including hypersonics.
Hungary’s parliament approved legislation Tuesday to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán condemned the institute’s alleged bias toward Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the official launch of the “Golden Dome,” a next-generation missile defense initiative designed to protect the United States from advanced threats, including hypersonic and space-launched weapons.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday formally adopted a historic Pandemic Agreement aimed at improving global readiness and response to future pandemics, following the devastating COVID-19 outbreak that claimed thousands of lives between 2020 and 2022.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress on Tuesday that there is no military solution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
A historic water spring that has supplied Damascus for thousands of years is now reduced to a trickle, following the driest winter Syria has seen in decades, raising alarms over worsening water shortages across the capital.
The European Union and Britain have introduced new sanctions against Russia without waiting for the United States to join them, after the U.S. and Russian presidents talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war were inconclusive.